"This columnist has spent many years predicting a US war on Iran. There is now a US president who may finally make good on that long expressed threat. Donald Trump is deep in the thrall of Saudi Arabia and Israel, the two nations that pose the greatest risk to Iran. He happily does their bidding and is in a position to bring the sick neocon fantasy to reality.

Unfortunately, no one who ought to educate the public on this subject are doing what they should. The corporate media always support presidents at war. Even supposedly liberal outlets have spent years demonizing Russia, Venezuela and Iran. In so doing they have made the population ignorant or bloodthirsty. Democrats in congress are equally imperialist and will say nothing as the government plans a humanitarian catastrophe..."

trnn has a 20 minute interview with Vijay Prashad which I found very enlightening about the current international situation regarding Iran. Perhaps surprisingly, Japan is part of the group of nations defending Iran.

It appears that Modi caved in to Trump. I was really hoping that cheap Iranian oil woul temp Modi to defy. Apparently according to the link, India will still be trying to convince the US to abandon embargo of Iranian oil.

"We oppose Iran's support for terrorist organizations, its threats toward Israel, its ballistic missile program, its ongoing human rights violations and its support for the murderous Assad regime. We remain concerned by Iran's nuclear program and call on Iran to continue to uphold its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.' - Freeland, Global Affairs -

As we all know NDPP, Freeland is an American puppet (along with Justin and the rest of the liberals)

But going back to that tweet Trump made, it sounds like those others he was writing about North Korea s couple years back. And nothing ever came out of those.

At this point I’m not entirely sure of Trumps motivation behind this anti Iran tantrum he’s having?

Is he trying to intentionally ramp up the price of oil by threatening war against Iran? Is he appeasing Israel Saudi Arabia to secure those lucrative foreign political donations? Is he really an anti Islamic war pig? Is it all talk? I suspect it’s some kind of combination.

I've read several leftish commentators who think Trump is following the same pattern as he did in North Korea, as WWWTT suggests. Threaten and bluster in a bullying way, then make a deal and declare victory. They also point out that this is the technique he bragged about using in business in his book "The Art of the Deal". That does seem to me a reasonable interpretation of Trump's actions so far.

I've read several leftish commentators who think Trump is following the same pattern as he did in North Korea, as WWWTT suggests. Threaten and bluster in a bullying way, then make a deal and declare victory. They also point out that this is the technique he bragged about using in business in his book "The Art of the Deal". That does seem to me a reasonable interpretation of Trump's actions so far.

I hope you're right - and I believe you're right. Can't imagine another plausible scenario.

"Iran is open for talking and diplomacy but those avenues are closed under the status quo, with its economy being strangled by the US, the Iranian president said, adding that Tehran's only option now is to resist. Iran's president Hassan Rouhani, under whose tenure the universally acclaimed 2015 nuclear deal was struck, said on Monday that his country welcomes diplomacy and all sorts of negotiations in principle, but will not be coerced into them by debilitating economic sanctions and miltiary threats.

'I favor talks and diplomacy but under current conditions I do not accept it, as today's situation is not suitable for talks and our choice is resistance only,' Rouhani said..."

"The declared policy of the United States should be the overthrow of the mullahs' regime in Tehran. The behavior and the objectives of the regime are not going to change and therefore, the only solution is to change the regime itself."

"Did we learn nothing from our failed decade long involvement in Iraq...?"

Note the admission of Canadian involvement in the massacre of Mosul with 11,000 civilians killed as part of the US-led coalition. Canada also had Aurora surveillance aircraft assisting in 'targeting'. This is a major warcrime almost completely hushed up in Canada.

"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif says the attack on two tankers in the Sea of Oman amid a landmark visit by the Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to Iran is suspicious, calling for the promotion of dialogue among 'regional countries.' Taking to his official Twitter page on Thursday, hours after the attacks occurred, Iran's top diplomat siad, 'Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning.'

Highlighting the fact that the attacked tankers were bound for Japan, Zarif noted, 'Reported attacks on Japan-related tankers occurred while PM Shinzo Abe was meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei for extensive and friendly talks..."

"We are warning the enemy: There is no safe zone for extraterritorial military aircraft in Iranian skies and lands. Even approaching Iran's borders would be met with a strong response. Thus, I advise you to move as much away from Iran's frontier as you can,' Brigadier General Sabahi-Fard said..."

Against the first round of Iranian attacks, Trump stuck to a policy of military restraint. That policy failed to hold Iran in check. Now it has been seized by Khamenei as a stick for beating Washington. If the US does not use its might to strike back, other adversaries, such as China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong un, will follow Khamenei’s example....

"Mike Pompeo, the former CIA director, proudly admitted that he's a liar, a cheater and a thief. But we're supposed to believe him today as him and his neocon buddies beat the drums for war with Iran? Hard pass."

"As the US points the finger at Iran for attacks on two ships in the Gulf of Oman, Caitlin Johnstone notes: 'Sometimes the things put out by the US State Dept feel like they're conducting experiments on us just to test the limits of our stupidity..."

"The Munk School has been a hub of anti-Iranian activity. A senior research fellow until recently, Mark Dubowitz was dubbed ' The Man Who Fights Iran' by Ynet, Israel's largest English language news site. Alongside his position at the Munk School, Dubowitz was executive director of the extremist pro-Israel Foundation for Defense of Democracies..."

"So Iran dropped a quarter billion dollar boondoggle - and apparently recovered it along with the billions in US military tech on board - using a cheap, locally-produced SAM based on 1970s technology. Maybe Tehran is trying to send DC meatheads a message?"

"The most important thing in this story is that the US is waging economic warfare against Iranian women and children. The United States is waging what our foreign minister called 'economic terrorism.' They are trying to make the Iranian people suffer so much that the government will submit to the United States..."

"Trudeau's govt again seeks to get on board with Team Trump. This time the Liberal-controlled Foreign Affairs Committee seeks to designate Iran's military (IRGC) 'terrorists'. At a time when Trump is provoking a war with Iran, is this really something Canada should be doing?"

Trump's cock and bull story about calling off a last minute Iran strike because he 'didn't want to kill 150 people', is much more likely due to some quiet moves by Russia to make such a strike more costly than the 'B-Team' was probably willing to pay...

Helmer: Against the Blitz Wolf - Russian Reinforcement For Iran's Defence in War Against All

"The Russian General Staff has reinforced the air defences for Russians at the Iranian nuclear reactor complex at Bushehr, on the Persian Gulf, according to sources in Moscow. At the same time, Iran has allowed filming of the movement of several of its mobile [Russian] S-300 air-defence batteries to the south, covering the Iranian coastline of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. More secretly, elements of Russian military intelligence, electronic warfare, and command and control advisers for Iran's air defence systems have been mobilized to support Iran against US and allied attacks. The Russian military source says there is now active coordination between Russian and and Iranian military staffs..."

"Iranian FM Mohammad Javed Zarif says the Islamic Republic will never pursue a nuclear weapon based on its religious and strategic beliefs, stressing the importance of dismantling chemical arms across the world..."

Probably, given the malevolence of mad-dog Israel and its arsenal of nukes, a big mistake.

"Iranian FM Mohammad Javed Zarif says the Islamic Republic will never pursue a nuclear weapon based on its religious and strategic beliefs, stressing the importance of dismantling chemical arms across the world..."

Probably, given the malevolence of mad-dog Israel and its arsenal of nukes, a big mistake.

Personally I have never subscribed to the Mutually Assured Destruction model of peace.

Canadian progressives who feel as you do should then redouble their efforts towards an internationally enforced nuclear disarmament of Israel as well as to stop supporting parliamentary parties which are effectively complicit, component parts of a national lobby that consistently shields it from preventitive actions or even criticism. Otherwise, the status quo, a besieged Iran without nukes facing a coalition of malevolent enemies that are nuclear armed and seemingly bent on war, is far more dangerous, as the present situation abundantly illustrates in my view.

"Since the US withdrew from the JCPOA, the Europeans have not done anything tangible, meaning it is malfunctioning,' said Majid Takht-Revachi in a briefing with journalists in New York on Saturday. 'We cannot continue to carry out our obligations under the JCPOA single handedly and not to benefit from it,' said the senior diplomat..."

"...Expanding on serious discussions at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek - which included Iran's President Rouhani - at the Putin-Xi meetings in Moscow and St Petersburg and of the G20 in Osaka, both Russia and China are fully invested in keeping Iran stable and protected from the Trump administration's strategy of chaos.

As for Iran being accused - by the US - of 'breaching' the JCPOA, that's absolute nonsense. To start with, Tehran cannot possibly 'breach' a multinational deal that was declared null and void by one of the signatories, the US..."

"Britain's seizure of an Iranian supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil is an act of piracy and a major escalation in tensions that threaten to spiral out of control. It was carried out at the behest of the United States as part of the campaign of military provocations and economic sabotage against Tehran. The UK said it had seized the ship to prevent Iran breaking sanctions against Syria..."

"Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said it has captured a British oil tanker for breaking international maritime law while crossing the Strait of Hormuz. The oil tanker was tranferred to the coast to undergo the required legal proceedings a statement added..."

"Hubris is usually a forewarning of imperial calamity. Extreme arrogance blinds the hubristic person to the limits of their power. So, blindly, they push on with reckless excess, leading to potentially disastrous results. The US and Britain are exemplars of this kind of mad hubris in the present mounting tensions with Iran..."

The US claims it shot down an Iranian drone. Iran denies, suggests the US shot down one of its own. Provides video taken from the alleged drone. The US has esentially shot itself in the foot by making a "so far" proven fabrication. I suspect the US made this fabrication up to imply the US can retaliate against the Iranian shooting down of a US drone.

This further suggests that Iran has posession of highly advanced military tech with an advantage over the US military!

The counter seizure of a UK oil tanker. This is a huge bold victory for Iran! Iran has proven without a doubt that Iran will successfully hit back The UK/US appears very weak now. Iran has proven that it will not be intimidated by any feeble illegal sanctions imposed by imperialist bullies! Iran now holds the high ground.

This is a tricky one! I'm against the death penalty. Canadian governmant is all for the death penalty, just not on people IN Canada. Don't believe me? Then go see NDPP's NATO nazis thread for further details. NATO/Canada is a huge supporter of the death penalty. And with no trial to boot!

These arrests sends a message to the US. Also strongly suggests that Iranian intelligenceis very sophisticated and they can counter US/NATO/Israel successfully. This is another victory for Iran. This ICM clip I posted below only boosts Irans status higher!

"US [and Canadian] sanctions on Iran are denying Iranians desperately needed medications and medical equipment. If only [North] Americans were aware that their government policies are hurting children with cancer. Instead all they hear is how evil Iran is."

"This month's escalation of US and British threats to Iran's oil export shipping and maritime defences in the Persian Gulf is to be matched with Russian assistance to the Iran Navy and to shore batteries of air defence missiles, as well as the 300-kilometre range Russian Kalibr missile, a US Navy ship-killer. The result has already been signalled by the British, German and French governments in their responses to Trump Administration requests for a multinational naval convoy operation in the Persian Gulf, and also in response to Iranian warnings..."